She's 3-4 years old, female, and has always had issues peeing in her litter box (so that she's sometimes not doing so right now isn't all that interesting). In the past she's had a little blood in her pee and it went away. Recently I've noticed some blood in her pee after she went on some concrete in the house (I've been taking up some carpet). I thought it was just that day but I've noticed it again; so maybe it's been going on for a couple weeks.

She hasn't been acting in pain or worrying at her genitals. She's been playing with me and acting normally frisky, etc.

Getting her into a carry cage/to the vet is an absolute nightmare. Last week I went so far as to make an appointment for her, got her into the carrier cage 3 times (feeling like a murder/rapist throughout) only to have her escape 3 times. The whole thing was extremely traumatizing to us both, lol.

I should note that she's kind of a wild cat who likes me and barely tolerates every other living thing on the planet.

So I am thinking the issue might be that she's not getting enough water. She has a single water bowl at the entry to the garage and she's entirely on dry food. I'm thinking I might get her onto some wet food and buy one of those pet water dispenser things so she has another watering hole.

Please, get help for your cat and I know you said you tried last week, but don't give up. She needs a vet immediately. Have you ever had an on-going UTI yourself, well, it is very, very painful and will become chronic and damaging to the bladder if not treated quickly. It is in the best interest of your cat to get her to the vet, one way or another. Go out and buy a larger carrier, one that is has a large opening. Turn it on its back end and then scruff your cat and get her in there while closing the door at the same time. I know this is not easy, I have a cat who hates the carrier's too, but it must be done.

It sounds like your kitty has been suffering with this way too long now. She needs to have her urine analyzed and she needs medications and probably a prescription diet at this point. Cats do need to have more wet food and not be on a totally dry diet which can contribute to UTI's because the urine sits in the bladder very concentrated then. A fountain is a good idea along with a water bowl so she has a choice. I, too, have a cat that recently had blood in the urine and has been on antibiotics and doing much better. Second urinalysis is today. You must stay on top of this for your cat's well-being, health and happiness.

I think that, after all, I'm going to sit on this a little while; I don't see any alarming behavior in my cat. I'm going to introduce her to wet food and I've bought a water fountain to entice her into drinking more water (up until now she's only had the one water bowl in a rather traffic-heavy area of the house). There's nothing but alarmed and rather hysterical info to be found online about blood in urine, but after reading this particular thread, I'm inclined to just try getting more liquids into her, as I've not seen any signs of real distress or being unable to pee.

Though, what it comes down to is that I'm just extremely reluctant to drag her to the vet. =/

I wonder if you might consider checking in with your vet and seeing what they say. My own boy had a urinalysis at the end of May, with his senior panel. It revealed trace amounts of blood, but his blood work was fine, and no crystals. My vet only said I should bring him back at the end of this month, to see what was up - based on bloodwork, no litter box accidents, etc., he was inclined to think it might even be a result of the draw - but that was because there were no other symptoms.

Your girl has several symptoms of UTI or other infection (the out of the box peeing, etc). Please, consult your vet - he may be able to come to the house for the exam or let you know whether waiting if advised. I suspect not, truly.

In any event, I do beg you to know exactly where your emergency vet is - if she develops crystals or other issues, you will not have much time to get into the vet - perhaps only hours. I'm not trying to scare you unnecessarily - but this truly is something to at least call your vet about, today.

Well, I emailed my local animal hospital almost word for word the two posts I've made in this thread. The reply to my first post was to bring her in (of course); the reply to my second post was "okay, let me know how she does and if there's anything we can do."

I have found that using a regular old box (like one that paper comes in) with a lid is the easiest way to transport my guy Jasper. I discovered this a couple of months ago when I had to take him to the vet's several times in a week. Some of the cat carriers are very cumbersome and it's really hard to force a stressed out kitty into them. Try the box. You can duct tape the lid on if you need to. Aside from the easy access, my guy is much calmer in something he can't see out of.

I hope you decide to take your kitty to the vet. Blood in the urine is nothing to fool around with. You may just find it to be much cheaper and less stressful to find out whats going on and treat it before it's an emergency.

I am going through this same scenario with my cat right now, blood in urine. Personally, I would not wait. I did read through that "thread" link you posted, but would not use that as veterinarian advice. Blood in urine is NOT normal on any day, IMHO.

I tried getting her on wet food and it was kind of a disaster... She'll eat it when she feels like it, but not enough. Tried 3 or 4 brands and 10 or 12 cans, from the cheap store brand stuff to fairly quality stuff. She wasn't enthusiastic about any of it, but would lick it and eat small amounts sometimes. I rather stupidly tried to get her to go canned cold turkey and she didn't eat much for a few days... Now I've put back out the cheap dry food she's eaten all her life just to make sure she won't starve, though I'm still going to leave some canned out a couple times a day (I think she mostly just likes to lick the juice off).

She's been peeing regularly in small amounts (from quarter size to golf ball size) and has been almost entirely sticking to her litter boxes (went to her old "accident" areas a couple times, but not in the past couple days--I don't think). I found one small drop of blood a couple days ago on the carpet (in a small pee spot)... but no puddles of reddish pee on the concrete...

I read everywhere "UTI! UTI!" but according to a study result I read only like 1% of cats displaying similar symptoms actually have an infection...

Her behavior has been normal; she plays, chills, and doesn't act weak or lethargic as far as I can tell.

Have you actually tried calling and talking to a vet? Or did you just e-mail one? It may not be really serious, but blood in the urine is always cause for investigation in my books. If she is peeing outside her litter box, even once in a while, that could be an indication that she is in some pain and discomfort.
Remember, cats hide pain very well. They can be very ill or in a great deal of pain without even showing it.

I urge you to at least CALL a vet and talk to them. Perhaps between you, you can work something out to get her checked. As stressful and difficult as it may be, it's worth the effort if she is in pain.

Please bring your cat in for a urine sample and culture. The fact that she's peeing in various smallish amounts really makes me think she's either got a UTI or is getting blocked - or both. I've had a UTI - it's hell.

My boy had struvite crystals and, other than peeing small amounts (which was not his normal pattern) displayed no other symptoms - ate well, played well, etc.

A vet cannot make you come in, but, honestly, any good vet will make time, same day, for a cat with a possible urinary issue - it's that serious.

I really feel sorry for your kitty, even though she is playing and acting normal, she is still in some discomfort and needs to be treated. Cats hide their pain very, very well and when you do notice that they are in pain, it is desperate at that point. I am trying to be understanding and respectful to you as I am dealing with the exact same thing right now with my cat Pipsqueak who has no other symptoms other than the traces of blood in the urine and peeing smaller amounts, about golf ball or a bit smaller size (he normally has a much larger clump). To me, quarter size urine clumps and droplets of blood are getting to the point of a serious and critical bladder issue. There are many possibilities for a cat to have blood in the urine OTHER than a UTI. Your cat could have an inflammed, irritated bladder due to some allergy, stress or even cancer, could have stones, could have crystals imbedded in the bladder wall that won't even show up on a typical urinalysis or xray, could have kidney stones and I am sure the list goes on of other possibilities that blood in the urine is a symptom of. Hopefully, it is just an UTI that is easily diagnosed. I only wish that with my cat it would be going that simple. . But, I won't give up until I get an answer and he can be back to 100% and am following through with my vet to get to the bottom of this problem.

I am sending vibes to you and your cat and am concerned for her, and I pray you can somehow get her checked out at the very least

If you went to the bathroom and found blood in your urine, what would you do????

I'd be glad I have health insurance and can get myself checked out after a phone call and a five minute drive.

Under different circumstances... say in order to be checked out my only friend in the world had to betray me, run me down and lock me into an unmarked van, then transport me through hostile territory full of strange creatures making rough and frightening noises, and then to be prodded and jostled by unknown fingers, stuck with sharp pins and forced down onto a table while unknowable and uncomfortable things are going on out of my sight... Well, in such a case I might hesitate to do anything... I might "wait and see" and try to remedy things on my own.

I just want you to know, I totally understand your feelings on the trip to the vet. . Try not to worry yourself so. Even though it will be quite an emotional trip for your kitty and you, it is for the best for your kitty. In fact, I can relate to your anxiety about getting your cat in the crate. Pipsqueak, who is my sick kitty right now, is AWFUL about going into the crate. And I start feeling a bit anxious about the trip to the vet the day before. I do have a crate now that opens from the top, and the other day I was able to get him in that way surprisingly without much trouble. Until, he figures that one out . I also start leaving the crate out a day or two before the visit to the vet and spray it each day with Feliway. My other cats go in and use it for a napping place. But, I have yet to see Pipsqueak go in that crate willingly to nap.

I will be sending you MEGA vibes tomorrow and please report back on how things went.

I'd be glad I have health insurance and can get myself checked out after a phone call and a five minute drive.

Under different circumstances... say in order to be checked out my only friend in the world had to betray me, run me down and lock me into an unmarked van, then transport me through hostile territory full of strange creatures making rough and frightening noises, and then to be prodded and jostled by unknown fingers, stuck with sharp pins and forced down onto a table while unknowable and uncomfortable things are going on out of my sight... Well, in such a case I might hesitate to do anything... I might "wait and see" and try to remedy things on my own.

Right.... Have you actually had an UTI to a point of bleeding? Because if you had, you would know that the pain is absolutely maddening. I had one in a hotel 3am in Chicago. I had no health insurance at the time, and no means of transportation... Didn't know where the nearest ER was, was in the middle of a tradeshow weekend... Well, Let me just tell you that after I could no longer scream through a wrapped towel closing my mouth in horrendous pain, I made it to the ER, and didn't care at all what the bill was.
The blood in your cat's urine is not normal, and she is in pain - a LOT of pain. Cats hide pain by instinct. There is a reason why you read UTI everywhere... because it is one. It might not be an infection, but it certainly is an inflammation and it can be infected. It can also be stones, crystals, etc.
Please, concentrate on treating her, taking care of her pain.... Make sure you get a Urinalysis. I would also get a culture to make sure, since you don't want to go back there, and a urinalysis sometimes do not tell all...
Get a pain medicine, and be aware of Metacam - they will likely push it; it is an anti-inflammatory, but it is related to Kidney failure and not deemed safe for cats. Per the FDA, there is no dosage safe for cats - not oral or injectable.
Once she is no longer in pain, she should start peeing on her box normally again.
Good luck tomorrow.

Way to take things out of context... Anyways, UTI means INFECTION which is apparently quite rare in an otherwise healthy cat; it's not a catch-all term like FLUTD. (she hasn't been missing the litter box for days btw, as I said)

I do appreciate the encouragement, Feralvr especially for sympathizing lol...

Way to take things out of context... Anyways, UTI means INFECTION which is apparently quite rare in an otherwise healthy cat; it's not a catch-all term like FLUTD. (she hasn't been missing the litter box for days btw, as I said)

I do appreciate the encouragement, Feralvr especially for sympathizing lol...

Sorry, but taking what out of context? Where I made a comparison about the pain I felt when I had a bloody UTI and the pain your cat must be feeling? Isn't that the same kind of comparison you made when you said about driving yourself to a clinic 5 minutes away to take care of your pain? With your health insurance?
Your cat has blood in her urine... Your cat misses the litterbox....
Blood in the urine can or not indicate an infection - but it is NOT normal - as I posted, it can indicate many many different (and all painful things, BTW), including an infection. And furthermore - an inflammation, which the symptoms ARE blood in the urine, can very easily turn into an infection due to the open blood vessels - which is why vets do prescribe antibiotics in the majority of the cases where there is blood in the urine.
Are you expecting your cat to tell you "mom, it hurts"? So, she doesn't talk, she doesn't drive, it doesn't hurt? is that it?
Tell me where did I take this out of context?
Speeling out - the point of the first part of my post, is that in that amount of pain, being sick, the stress of the vet is definitely worth it. She has to be seen. Then I went into a list of helpful points that you seem to have ignored...
Your posts indicates that your cat has been in pain and ignored for a long long time.
People here has been telling you this.... but.... Don't want to listen.....
BTW - UTI's are NOT that uncommon......... Not at the least.

My original point was that things could not be summed up as simply as "What would you do if you were peeing blood yourself?" You just looked at my illustration and ran with it in order to make your own point. That's what I mean about taking things out of context.

I am not denying that my cat might very well be in pain, and I AM taking her to the vet. But you can hardly tell me she's in pain any more than she can.

I do not take kindly to being told I'm ignoring my cat when I've been anguishing over this thing for a week, reading reading reading crap online, stressing out, going to various stores buying cat food, getting her a new scratch pad, a water fountain, spending time with her, praying... I just felt REALLY bad about taking her to the vet for some reason. I'm still dreading it right now. I don't really know why, exactly.

My original point was that things could not be summed up as simply as "What would you do if you were peeing blood yourself?" You just looked at my illustration and ran with it in order to make your own point. That's what I mean about taking things out of context.

I am not denying that my cat might very well be in pain, and I AM taking her to the vet. But you can hardly tell me she's in pain any more than she can. Look, it is hard to recognize when a cat is in pain... Because by instinct they hide pain... Which is wshy I posted my comment about having an UTI with blood and asking you if you had one - this way you would relate to the pain she had it. Unfortunately cats are notorious for hiding pain, which makes it that much harder to diagnose them and that much more important to pay attention to the symptoms - such as the ones she is showing you.... The fact that she is not screaming doesn't mean she is not in pain. Cats manifest pain in different ways - missing the litterbox is the #1 sign of urinary tract pain. You sum that up with blood in the urine, then there is no doubt left...

I do not take kindly to being told I'm ignoring my cat when I've been anguishing over this thing for a week, reading reading reading crap online, stressing out, going to various stores buying cat food, getting her a new scratch pad, a water fountain, spending time with her, praying... But read your posts... I can only go by what you write... and what you have been writing is indicating that for some reason you don't want to see what is going on... What concerned me the most, is that this is not the first time this happened... Issues like this can become chronic, and serious. And trust me - I have been there both personally, with my own pain, and with my own cat... it is not something you want to ignore... All these things you are doing, reading online, buying cat food, a scratching pad, a fountain... nothing is going to work without treatment. All of us here are not just saying this to give you a lesson just because.... We are saying from experience, from the heart... We have been there... Our cats have... They have either gotten better, or in some cases they are still going through it Feralvr for example. Some people didn't treat their cats soon enough and lost their cats to it.... We have seen that too I just felt REALLY bad about taking her to the vet for some reason. Please don't be afraid... It is going to be ok.... No cat is happy going to the vet... it is not fun... we know it, but when they are sick they have to go to get better and we need to be strong enough to make it good by them. We are their voices, the only ones who can do that for them. I have a cat, Bugsy, who has a ton of problems... I also dread taking him to the vet... So many tests, needles, sometimes surgeries... But it has to be done for him to get better, for the pain to go away... He has only me... I am his momma
Your girl is going to be all better... Go tomorrow, and ask for everything - get a urinalysis, make sure to get a culture done already, so you don't need to go back a second time (the culture will show you the right bacteria if any). Get a pain killer for sure, and refuse Metacam - I am almost sure they will push it, but be strong and refuse it. You and her will be fine in no time - you just need to get through this.... Then the food, water fountain, and everything else will help from there on... I'm still dreading it right now. I don't really know why, exactly.

Hi jedinat, I hope the vet appointment goes well for you and the kitty! I know exactly what you're going through because my cat exhibited signs of FLUTD some time ago and at the time I had just enough money to either take him to the vet or to buy him canned food. So I opted for your approach - wait and see and try to get more water into his system, and of course keep an eye on any possible blockage - and I know just how nerve wrecking it was. He didn't want canned either, but I was fortunate in that he likes raw meat, so I put him on a raw meat diet and he's been fine since. Almost 2/3 of FLUTD cases in young, otherwise healthy cats are idiopathic cystitis - all results are fine, but the cat's bladder is inflamed for no apparent reason. Humans get a similar condition and it's called interstitial cystitis. The ONLY treatment for this is water - as much water as possible. No matter how much water your cat drinks she won't get as much water through drinking as she would if she would eat canned food. If she hates canned, will she eat raw? Raw has been a lifesaver for us.

The second leading cause of FLUTD are crystals, and the treatment is pretty much the same - water, and canned food with a high meat content (or a balanced homemade raw diet).

I found these two studies helpful, this one has a nifty little table that shows that cats on dry food don't drink enough water to dilute their urine as much as it's diluted in cats fed canned food

And this one contains an overview of leading causes of FLUTD - it helped me immensely when I made the decisions about feeding my cat. I felt that if the chances are the vet would find it's either idiopathic cystitis or crystals, I would be better off spending that money on quality food instead, as that would be the best treatment in both cases anyway. That said, if I'd had the money, I would have taken him to the vet at least to get some pain medication - having had a UTI myself, I know how horribly painful it can be (and I did my research back then on interstitial cystitis so I knew it was just as much painful as a UTI, inflammation hurts with or without bacterial infection). Some vets will give antibiotics just in case, but as you've found out yourself in vast majority of cases there are no bacteria in urine so the cat needs pain medications, not antibiotics - we're just accustomed to think bladder inflammation = infection, because that's the most common cause in humans.

I had done research about raw feeding before but was hesitant to dive into it until the FLUTD episode happened, so I had the know-how and was able to start him on raw as soon as I realized that canned wouldn't fly with him. I was also very (very!) fortunate that he's such a little predator he will eat raw chicken bones and all kinds of meat chunks, so there was very little work for me there - that's called "frankenpray" diet (scroll down to about the middle of this page for a detailed description). With frankenpray you don't really need to add supplements, but I would add a few just to be on the safe side - like vitamin E, vitamin B/brewer's yeast, some salt and/or some other source of iodine.

That all sounds fairly complicated for a beginner so I will instead suggest this route - commercially prepared minces are recommended on this page, and bellow is a very easy recipe for home-made ground raw cat food. You will need to invest in a grinder and supplements first though, so I would try those commercial minces first to see if your cat will eat it. (The minces are available in the US, but I also have some links if you live in the UK).

Since you don't know how your cat will react to raw, maybe it would be best to try some commercially prepared raw minces first, and also try her on meat chunks (these include muscle meat and also poultry hearts and gizzards), chicken wings, chicken liver and beef or lamb kidney to see if she will eat these. Some cats have a preference for ground raw and some will rather eat chunks and whole bones, so it's best that you test the waters first before you buy a grinder or stack the freezer with meaty bones and meat chunks that she may or may not want to touch!

to the OP: please be aware that an unbalanced raw diet can be dangerous for a cat, and has been known to likely be responsible to the death of a young (2 yr old) cat who suffered from Crystals here at TCS.
A raw diet, while a wonderful diet, does not, by any means substitute vet care, and requires a lot of research and preferably vet monitoring.
The owner of the kitty who died had years of experience with raw feeding and was also a breeder - she was by no means new to it.
Please just do not take it lightly... Hope your consult went ok

Jedinat - Just thinking about you and wondering if you were able to successfully get your cat in the crate! BTW - and forgive me if you already posted this - what is your cat's name?? Anyway, I am anxiously waiting the results in the next two days from Pipsqueak's urine culture. I am worried that it will come back negative . and I won't have anymore answers. That is the terrible thing about this Idiopathic cystitis... the cause is just unknown.

I have been lucky that Squeak is liking his all wet diet now, finally. It took a couple of weeks to get him going on it. He likes to crunch on dry. So I offer him some Hill's W/D dry at lunchtime and he is happy then. I have also considered adding some raw to his diet, i.e. Nature's Variety. I wouldn't want to prepare my own, just too much work for me but they do make it ready-made with all of the nutrients, vitamins/minerals, etc, already added in. I had to start feeding my old sweet dog some freeze-dried raw patties to get him to eat, he has failing health.. Anyway, my other cat's seem VERY interested in the freeze-dried patties. You can add alot of water to those too as they are dry, but the cat's seem to want those patties. So, I might start adding some of those from Nature's Variety for cats. But it is very expensive, that is the downside to feeding healthy .

Get a pain medicine, and be aware of Metacam - they will likely push it; it is an anti-inflammatory, but it is related to Kidney failure and not deemed safe for cats. Per the FDA, there is no dosage safe for cats - not oral or injectable.

Carolina, thanks for mentioning about the Metacam...... I remember you talking about this in some other thread awhile ago. And, I want to also be prepared in case my vet recommends something like that